To ease data collection for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, you can connect Spreadsheets and Documents as sources for metric values in ESG Program to ensure their values automatically update with the latest data.
Connect source files to metric values
From a Spreadsheet or Document, you can connect a cell or content as a source for metric values in ESG Program. When you connect a metric value to a source file, it automatically updates with the latest data from the Spreadsheet or Document.
Tip: You can also start to connect a metric value to its source file from ESG Program.
From Spreadsheets, you can connect a source cell to an ESG Program metric value, such as to automatically update ESG Program with the latest value from a data collection sheet.
Note: You can connect a cell to only one metric value at a time.
- Open the Spreadsheet with the value to the connect to the metric.
Tip: To open a connected file from an ESG program metric, select the source file and section, then click Open source in Value.
- In the value's cell, right-click and select Connect to program metric .
- Select the metric value to connect:
- To connect an existing value, select its ESG Program, year, and metric; then click Apply.
- To create a new metric to connect to, select its ESG Program and year, then click Add metric, select its topic, and click Apply. From ESG Program, configure the metric's data collection as necessary.
From Documents, you can connect content to an ESG Program metric, such as to automatically update its value with the latest draft of qualitative source data.
Note: You can connect content to only one metric at a time, and you can connect only body text; not embedded tables, charts, images, hyperlink URLs, or page or footnote numbers.
- Open the Document with the value to the connect to the metric.
Tip: To open a connected file from an ESG program metric, select the source file and section, then click Open source in Value.
- Select the content to use as the metric's value, right-click, and select Connect to program metric .
- Select the metric value to connect:
- To connect an existing value, select its ESG Program, year, and metric, and click Apply.
- To create a new metric to connect to, select its ESG Program and year, then click Add metric, select its topic, and click Apply. From ESG Program, configure the metric's data collection as necessary.
View a file's connections to metrics
In a Spreadsheet or Document, the cells or content connected to ESG Program metrics have a blue border. To show or hide this border on a Spreadsheet's connected cells, click ESG connections on the View toolbar.
To view a file's connected metrics, open its ESG panel:
- To view the metrics connected to the selected sheet or section, select the applicable ESG Program under ESG metrics . For each of the Program's topics, the metrics connected to the file appear. Select a metric to view its connected cell or content in the file.
Note: You can view all ESG Program metrics that use the file as a source for their values.
- For details about a specific metric, select its connected cell or content in the file. Under ESG metrics , you can view details about a metric, including any description, framework references, attachments, or notes.
Note: From the panel, workspace members can edit notes or upload a value's supporting attachments when they are the metric's assignee or approver with an open task, or the Editor or Owner of the file or the metric's ESG Program.
Tip: Click a framework reference to view its content from ESG Explorer in the ESG bookmarks panel. From the ESG bookmarks panel, click Open in Explorer to open the reference directly in ESG Explorer.
Open a metric from its source
To open the connected metric from the source file:
- Select its cell or content, right-click, and select Go to connected metric.
- From the ESG panel, select the metric in ESG metrics, then select Go to connected metric from its menu.
Disconnect a metric's value
For a metric connected to a source file, you can disconnect its value, such as to connect to another source file or manage the value directly from ESG Program or Workiva Tasks.
- Select the value to disconnect from its source file:
- From ESG Program, open the metric's value, then click Remove source in Metric value.
- From the source file, right-click the connected value, and select Disconnect from program metric.
- From the source file's ESG panel, select the metric in ESG metrics , then select Disconnect from program metric from its menu.
- From ESG Program, open the metric's value, then click Remove source in Metric value.
- If the value already has tasks in progress, select whether to send email notifications to the assignee and approvers, and click OK.